Dynamics of an Ongoing Wolbachia Spread in the European Cherry Fruit Fly, Rhagoletis cerasi (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Numerous terrestrial arthropods are infected with the alphaproteobacterium <i>Wolbachia</i>. This endosymbiont is usually transmitted vertically from infected females to their offspring and can alter the reproduction of hosts through various manipulations, like cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), enhancing its spread in new host populations. Studies on the spatial and temporal dynamics of <i>Wolbachia</i> under natural conditions are scarce. Here, we analyzed <i>Wolbachia</i> infection frequencies in populations of the European cherry fruit fly, <i>Rhagoletis cerasi</i> (L.), in central Germany&#8212;an area of an ongoing spread of the CI-inducing strain <i>w</i>Cer2. In total, 295 individuals from 19 populations were PCR-screened for the presence of <i>w</i>Cer2 and their mitochondrial haplotype. Results were compared with historic data to understand the infection dynamics of the ongoing <i>w</i>Cer2 invasion. An overall <i>w</i>Cer2 infection frequency of about 30% was found, ranging from 0% to 100% per population. In contrast to an expected smooth transition from <i>w</i>Cer2-infected to completely <i>w</i>Cer2-uninfected populations, a relatively scattered infection pattern across geography was observed. Moreover, a strong <i>Wolbachia</i>-haplotype association was detected, with only a few rare misassociations. Our results show a complex dynamic of an ongoing <i>Wolbachia</i> spread in natural field populations of <i>R. cerasi</i>.

Abstract licence: CC BY

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.